The American League Silver Sluggers were announced this afternoon. The Athletics had three nominees but only one truly had it locked and in the bag. While teammates Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker predictably
missed out on some offseason hardware, the Athletics’ star rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz did not as he took home his first Silver Slugger of his young career:
‘The Big Amish’ as he’s been christened burst onto the scene in epic fashion this season. Kurtz absolutely shot up through the A’s minor league system like a rocket, playing just 33 minor league games total(!) before getting The Call. It took him a mere 283 days after getting drafted fourth overall to make his his major league debut. As the organization’s #1 prospect there were immediate high hopes for the lefty slugger but it was a slow beginning for the Wake Forest product. It took Kurtz 17 games to hit his first home run on May 13th, but from there it was an absolute power surge through the rest of the season.
The 22-year-old ended up hitting 36 home runs while slashing an incredible .290/.383/.619. That homer total led all AL first basemen and was second among all first basemen in baseball, behind only Mets slugger Pete Alonso. And that’s with a late callup in mid-April and a short IL stint at the end of May/start of June. For someone so young, Kurtz looked like a veteran in the batter’s box, even against some of the best pitchers on the planet.
It’s not a major shock to any A’s fans and likely for most baseball fans in general, except maybe Blue Jays fans. There wasn’t any major competition at his position other than slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. up in Toronto, and it always looked like a major long-shot for the reigning Silver Slugger. Kurtz’s first look in the big leagues was just too historic, with the highlight of his season coming on July 25th in Houston against the hated division-rival Astros when he hit a record-tying four home runs in a single game. There were still a couple months to go but that felt like the moment Kurtz had truly arrived and cemented himself among the game’s most elite hitters. As a 22-year-old!
While Kurtz took home the honors this evening, his teammates fell short. Langeliers had bad luck having a career year the same season as divisional opponent Cal Raleigh, and Rooker had a great season but still a step back from last season’s output, allowing Jays leadoff man George Springer to sneak away with the award this year. Better luck next year, gents.
This win for Kurtz is the first of many coming in his budding career and his story has just begun. Congrats Nick! We never doubted for a second.
